At times, the production carries an adult contemporary air reminiscent of Daylight Again, elsewhere it's as spare as he's ever been, and the two aesthetics blend into a record that's comforting yet not complacent. Nash is no longer looking at the past; he's looking at the future and he's embracing all the changes to come.

Cheap Trick can still make a solid and entertaining hard rock record. If that doesn't sound like much, compare Bang, Zoom, Crazy... Hello with the current work of their late-'70s peers and you'll see what a fine surprise that is.

It's an impressive debut, one that should easily win over fans of simple and true indie pop, and also one that promises great things in the future.

Befitting its origins, the album's sound is blunt and raw, mixing rock, blues, jazz, spirituals, and field recordings into the musical equivalent of photojournalism.

It's certainly not an upbeat listen, nor are its myriad regional allusions easy to parse for non-Australians, but it engages enough on a cerebral level that it's consistently intoxicating, even at its most lethal.

Le Bon's clever and often abstract turns of both melody and phrase are abundant throughout.

As ever, indisposed listeners with little patience will hear Willner's tracks as distended and routine. Those who can't get enough of the stuff have another reliably durable set of techno that draws from dream pop, dub, and Krautrock. It has the potential to stupefy, if in very familiar fashion.

While it's not all good, there are some sublime moments within the album's ramshackle bulk, and its blast of free-range creativity is in itself something to celebrate.

As a whole, the album plays out a bit unevenly, with some distinctive artistic peaks and a few mis-plays made in the name of experimentation. Still, with the long gaps (six years) between each of their releases, it's hard to fault Autolux for making a worthy stab at reinvention.

As its title suggests, Welcome the Worms is a portrait of embracing life's changes and challenges and growing stronger in the process.

There's that sense of uncertainty on the entire album, which serves as both an extended trip down memory lane and, perhaps, a goodbye. But whether this is simply a bookend before a new phase or a complete finish is up in the air. Either way, Stories for Monday is a total celebration.

Psychopomp is an impressive work by an artist well worth watching in the future.

Even more so than Blunt's previous work, BBF is a difficult, sometimes impenetrable listen, but it's the most powerful statement he's made yet.

Although it isn't their strongest work, Distortland is an enjoyable late-era addition to their catalog that breathes as much as it pleases.

The album is a generally successful experiment in low-end heaviness.

When he's backed by the Innocent Criminals, Harper never seems to be trying too hard, and that's why Call It What It Is is a cut above many of his records.

On Vacation isn't CFCF's most focused work, but it isn't supposed to be. As the title states, this is music for escaping day-to-day life and getting pleasantly lost.

Man About Town doesn't boast much in the way of radical steps forward. But it confirms the man is still very good at what he does.

All Saints' sound has matured with confidence--much like Kylie Minogue's or Melanie C's--resulting in an album that is both secure and content.

This debut EP is a deeper, meatier experience than expected, going as far as to be a conceptual release focused on relationships.

The front placement of two T-Pain collaborations gets the album off to a strong, strutting start. Several of her established associates, such as Blac Elvis and Pop & Oak, eventually arrive to ensure a familiar mix of traditional structures and contemporary dressing.

At times, the heaviness of both the production and material weighs a little too heavily, begging for the kind of sunny pop touch the band has proven capable of, but ultimately, Age of Indignation is a significant artistic leap forward for the band.

Little Windows clocks in at less than half an hour, which is certainly appropriate to the period that Jones and Thompson are honoring. But given how well they mine their influences and bring them into the present day, it's not hard to wish a second Little Windows will open soon.

Even if some of the songs have spare, measured rhythms that seem easy enough to follow, the group will make the guitar notes spiral into strange directions or build the feedback up to hair-raising levels.

Flaws aside, IV is quite enjoyable--especially split over a couple of listens.

The Diary of J Dilla might not rival its maker's best output, but it's a pivotal and illuminating chapter, even when heard out of sequence. Just as importantly, it fulfills the wish of a master musician.

If calling Nosebleed Weekend the Coathangers' most professional work to date sounds like damning with faint praise, it admirably confirms this band isn't messing around.

Tweet has lost nothing vocally while gaining a decade's worth of wisdom. As ever, she exudes euphoria, longing, and irritation with the slightest of adjustments, and remains one of the best soft-voiced, low-volume singers around.